Penny started thinking back to various times when her children pulled her through some of the most difficult times in her life. She especially thought about Ken and what he said and did for her after his father had passed.
Penny opened her eyes and stared at Paul. He said,
"that's my girl. You remember that our family is there to help each other."
Penny continued to look up at him and smiled. Paul returned her smile and gently leaned forward and kissed her lightly on the lips. When the kiss ended, Paul started getting up from the bed. As he got up, he said,
"I've got to go now."
Penny wasn't ready for him to leave and started to protest, but like in so many dreams, she couldn't move or call out to him. She sadly watched him start to exit through the bedroom door.
Before he left completely, Paul turned to her and simply said,
"you know, you deserve to be happy too!"
He winked at her and vanished through the door, leaving Penny alone again.
Penny, still sleeping, began to cry, but the tears were a mix of sadness and happiness. She didn't realize that she had company while she slept.
Ken bolted awake after a fitful rest. It wasn't his unfit rest that caused him to awaken so abruptly. It was his dad's voice.
"
Ken, go to your mother now! She needs you, son!
"
It was 4:30 in the morning. Ken was still trying to wake up as he left his room and walked to his mother's room. It was a short walk since it was next door to his room. Her door was closed. He thought about knocking, if something was wrong, he didn't want to wait for a response.
Ken opened the door quickly but quietly in case it was all just in his head. His mother had fell asleep with her lamp on, so it was easy for Ken to see her tossing and turning on her bed. He approached her bed cautiously since she was still asleep. As he got closer, he could see she was dreaming of something unpleasant.
Ken wasn't sure what to do. He stood there watching his mother for a little while. She seemed to calm down after a few minutes. He took the opportunity to sit down on her bed facing her. He looked down at her and saw her briefly tilt her head on the pillow and smile, almost like she was savoring something familiar to her.
A couple of minutes later, Ken's mom had a concerned look on her face. It contorted into a sad face, like she was losing something, and Ken became aware that she had started to cry in her sleep. He let her go for a little while, but he couldn't stand to see her like this. Ken racked his brain trying to figure out what he needed to do.
Suddenly, a familiar voice popped into his head. It was his dad's voice again.
"What are you waiting for? She needs you!"
Ken made his decision. He leaned forward and gently placed his hand on her tear-streaked cheek. His mother responded to the comfort of his touch but didn't wake up.
Ken spoke softly, "mom, wake up. It's okay. I'm here for you."
Penny opened her eyes to see her son lovingly stroke her cheek.
"Mom, I won't let you down! Please tell me what I need to do to help!"
Penny, now fully awake from her dream, looked up at her son and smiled. Again, she couldn't help but notice the striking resemblance he bore to his father. "Ken, what are you doing here?"
Ken didn't really know what to say, so he said what felt right. "Mom, something, like a familiar voice, told me to come here quickly because you needed me. I don't know why, but I listened to the voice and saw you tossing and turning in your sleep, but then you calmed down a little, so I sat down on the edge of your bed and waited." Ken continued when she didn't say anything.
"Mom, your face became saddened, and you started to cry in your sleep. I didn't know what to do, so I sat there trying to figure it out. That's when the voice told me not to wait, so I decided to wake you. I hope you're not mad at me," Ken finished. His concern shown in his voice as he spoke.
Penny couldn't believe what she had just heard. It was just a dream, wasn't it? Then she remembered what Ken had said when he first woke her up. She realized it was the same thing he had said to her all those years ago. She sat up and looked and Ken carefully.
"How could I be mad at someone who obviously cares for me so much?" Now it was her turn to think about what she wanted to say to him. Ken never tried to interrupt her.
"Ken, the dreams I was having were very vivid memories that I had long forgotten. I want to think about them before I share them with you three."
Ken was a little confused by this, but he didn't say anything. He figured his mom would explain it when she was ready.
Penny continued, "I will say that before you woke me, I was dreaming of your father, but it wasn't any memory of him. We spoke about what was going on. The reason you saw me become sad and start to cry was because he left, and I couldn't say or do anything in my dream to stop him. The next thing I see when I open my eyes is my caring baby boy."
Ken slightly blushed at being called this. He knew his mother meant this to be affectionate, but it was still a little embarrassing. At least he was alone with her and nobody else would hear her say it.
"Did you just call Ken your baby boy," asked Katherine as she and Katie both walked through their mother's bedroom door.
Ken was mortified. His hopes of nobody hearing his mother's words vanished. He didn't want to turn around and look at either of his sisters. Instead, he stayed focused on his mother's beautiful face.
Their mother looked up at her girls as they entered. She responded with, "as a matter of fact, I did. He is my baby boy, but you two are my baby girls. No matter how old or how big you are, you three will always be my babies. I'll always love and support you."
Penny words encouraged her children, who all started smiling at her, but they gave her pause. She had just stated the answer to what she intended to do about her children's evolving relationship. What had she thought before? Of course, she would never stop loving or abandon her children. They had always been there for each other, especially after Paul had died. She knew it to be true. Paul was right when he said that they had all bonded together after his death in her dream.
Penny looked at her children, all of them looking back at her with love and concern on their faces. She smiled back at them in appreciation. For some reason, her gaze always came back to Ken. He was so much like his father. They shared so many features, except their height, of course. They were all waiting for her to say more, so she did.
"I know why Paul is here, but to what do we owe the honor of your visit at a quarter to 5?" She looked at the girls when she said this.
All three siblings looked at mom curiously. Had their mom just called their brother by their father's name? Katherine was the first to say something. "Mom, don't you mean you know why Ken is here?"
Penny was so mesmerized by the similarities of her son to her husband that she had mistakenly called him her late husband's name. She tried to walk it back a little. "I'm sorry. I guess I'm still a little tired and remembering the vivid dreams I had involving your father. Though you must admit, Ken does resemble his father quite a bit."
"I guess you're right," Katie said as they all looked at Ken.
Ken felt all the eyes upon him and squirmed a little. He piped up and said, "ok, but you still didn't answer mom's question. Why are you girls up?"
Katie responded saying, "I couldn't really sleep. What sleep I was getting was unrestful. I was sleeping when I heard a voice tell me I should go check on mom. I couldn't tell if it was real or a part of my dream, but I decided not to ignore it. When I opened my bedroom door, I saw Katherine had just opened hers, so we headed down to check on you when we saw your bedroom light on and Ken's bedroom door open."
"As for me, it's almost exactly like Katie said," Katherine started. "I was in and out of sleep when I heard a voice telling me to check on you, mom. The voice sounded very familiar. It almost sounded like dad."
"Yeah, you're right, Katherine," Katie exclaimed. "It did sound an awful lot like dad's voice. Maybe that's why I didn't ignore it.
Penny was wide awake now. She knew her husband had somehow pulled them together through their dreams. She was bewildered as to how any of this could happen, but she had a new resolve that caused her to get out of bed and address her children.
"I think we should go to the kitchen and make some coffee, kids. I don't think any of us are going back to sleep anytime soon, and we have much to discuss. I plan on calling into work later on to let them know I'm taking a vacation day."
All four of them migrated from Penny's bedroom and toward the kitchen. The siblings looked at one another with uncertainty, but each of them felt an unspoken hope that they were going to be ok.
Penny followed behind her children. She was determined to tell them about her dream. She thought it was the right thing to do, and it would help her share her memories with them. They needed to come together as a family for this important topic, one that would change all their lives significantly.
